Meaning & use
tip-top shape
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phraseinformal
in the best possible condition, with no damage or weakness.
Grammar: Used after 'be', 'get', 'keep' or 'stay': the car is in tip-top shape.
Patterns
- be in tip-top shape
- keep something in tip-top shape
- get something into tip-top shape
After months of training, she was in tip-top shape for the race.
He keeps his old motorbike in tip-top shape with weekly cleaning.
The team got the garden into tip-top shape before the wedding.
phrasefixed phraseinformal
very healthy and physically strong, especially because of regular exercise.
Grammar: Usually describes people or animals, not objects: he is in tip-top shape.
Patterns
- be in tip-top shape
- stay in tip-top shape
My grandfather is eighty and still in tip-top shape.
She runs every morning to stay in tip-top shape.
The horses looked in tip-top shape before the race.
Common combinations
- in tip-top shape
- The whole house was in tip-top shape when we moved in.
- keep something in tip-top shape
- Regular servicing keeps the machine in tip-top shape.
- get into tip-top shape
- He joined a gym to get into tip-top shape.
- stay in tip-top shape
- She eats well and exercises to stay in tip-top shape.
- tip-top condition
- The boat is old but in tip-top condition.
Synonyms and how they differ
- excellent condition
- More formal and used mostly about objects; it does not suggest health the way 'tip-top shape' can.
- great shape
- Very close in meaning and also informal, but slightly weaker than 'tip-top shape'.
- fighting fit
- British and often about health after illness; it sounds more dramatic than 'tip-top shape'.
Opposites
Word family
- tip-top adjective
- informal word meaning excellent or of the highest quality.
Commonly confused: tip-top shape or top shape?
tip-top shape vs top shape
People sometimes drop 'tip' and say 'top shape', but the fixed phrase is 'tip-top shape'.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Tip-top shape' describes a person or thing that is in excellent condition or health, so 'keep herself in tip-top shape' fits. Option A contradicts the phrase because storm damage means bad condition, C uses the phrase as a verb, and D uses it as a taste description, which it never is.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tip-top shape”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.